A modern credit card has three primary methods of making an in-person transaction with a merchant: tap, chip, and swipe. Each method relies on different technology embedded within the credit card, and one payment method may fail while the other two continue to function. For instance, an induction loop within the credit card may break, causing the tap functionality to stop working, but the chip and swipe functionality may be unaffected.
Such malfunctions may not be detectable through visual inspection of the credit card, so the customer may not realize why a transaction with the tap is failing. This may lead to unsatisfactory customer experience.